T20 World Cup 2024: Gubadin Naib, Naveen-ul-Haq Shine as Afghanistan Stun Australia To Keep Semifinal Hopes Alive

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Gulbadin Naib and Naveen-ul-Haq complemented Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zardan's knocks as Afghanistan kept their semi-final hopes alive after stunning 21-run win over Australia in a Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.

After Gurbaz (60 off 49 balls) and Zadran (51 off 48 balls) took Afghanistan to a challenging total of 148/6 in 20 overs, an all-round bowling effort led by Naveen and Naib helped bundle out Australia for 127.

Naveen (3 for 20) did the early damage, while Naib (4 for 20) continued to choke the Australian batters by picking up wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Rashid Khan (1 for 23) and Mohammad Nabi (1 for 1), Azmatullah Omarzai (1 for 10) were also among the wickets as Afghanistan pulled off a massive upset.

For Australia, only Glenn Maxwell (59 off 41 balls) showed some fight as the rest of the batters failed to get going on a challenging surface in St Vincent. Now, Australia need to beat India in their final Super 8 match to qualify for the semi-final.

Earlier, Gurbaz and Zadran shared an 118 run stand for the opening wicket to take Afghanistan to a decent total. At one stage, Afghanistan were well on their way to a total over 150, but Australia fought back to keep them at 148, which seemed enough in the end.

For Australia, Pat Cummins created history with a second successive hattrick as he finished with figures of 3 for 28, while Adam Zampa (2 for 28) was the next best bowler. Marcus Stoinis also chipped in with a wicket.

With this result, Afghanistan, who face Bangladesh in their final Super 8 game on Monday (June 24), kept their semi-final hopes alive as Australia will need to beat the tournament favourites and unbeaten India to qualify for the last four.